Controversy has raged in the local coffee-shops, in public forums as well as on the Internet about the actions of a local pastor and the remarks he made. An article appeared in the local newspapers about how said pastor has been “interviewed” by the authorities in the form of the Internal Security Department (ISD) from the Ministry of Home Affairs in Singapore. I don’t have scans of the article in newsprint but here’s an online summary of the report from the Straits Times.
Frankly, I rarely read the local newspapers and more often than not, I get all my news sent to me in emails or online via the Internet. Even though the Lighthouse Evangelism church is located a short distance from our own church, I did not bother when told to watch the videos of Pastor Rony Tan.. until I saw the screaming headlines and that really piqued my interest.
As always, I turned to the Internet to read up about it. There were the usual people going rabid about the remarks he had made and they were posting comments without thinking them out, threats. Some of them have even set up a Facebook site calling for harsher punishment than simply letting him off with what they felt was a”slap on the wrist.” Then, there were the usual responders calling for calm, reason, etc.
According to Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs,
Pastor Tan’s comments were highly inappropriate and unacceptable as they trivialised and insulted the beliefs of Buddhists and Taoists. They can also give rise to tension and conflict between the Buddhist/Taoist and Christian communities. ISD told Pastor Tan that in preaching or proselytising his faith, he must not run down other religions, and must be mindful of the sensitivities of other religions.
Hit that more link below to find out exactly what he said that has riled so many people.
